what are we made of ?
a broader notion about the body(ies)
we aren’t just physical matter, we aren’t mere anatomy.
we aren’t just mind stuff, we aren’t mere psychology.
mind and body aren’t separated and they aren’t the exclusive components of our “being”. they are two out of five aspects that constitute the human being.
annamaya is the physical body, gross, tangible
prānamaya is the enerhy body, subtle, made out of breath
manomaya is the intellectual body, seat of reasoning
viñānamaya is the behavioral body, that responds to personality
ānandamaya is the intuitive body, luminous, spiritual
this is the scheme used in the Taittiriya Upanishad to describe our system: a complex one made of dimensions that weave into each other and influence one anothet in a continuum.
whenever something is expressed through one aspect of this system (i.e. a bodily sensation, the quality of breath, a thought, a reaction, an emotion) is determined too byt the state of the other components.
yoga is an experience
built, engineered
to allow us to feel this layering of bodies.
obserinvg mindfully how each aspect of the system influences the other it becomes possible to act upon their hamonization and balance.
the more we are able to consider all these dimensions when making a choice, the more that choice will be accurate allowing us to feel balanced and to express to the best our own capacities.
in a way when yoga is approached in this way it becomes a pathway to inner ecology.
how can we pretend to “fix” the world if we are unable to “fix” ourselves?
we start here and now, close to what is known and familiar. the rest will come.
︎ a+g
